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Metropolis (Independent City)
Metropolis is the largest city in the United States of the Republic. Its population as of 2015 is 28,487,526. The current Mayor of Metropolis is David Steinman. He has been mayor since 2005. Metropolis is the only independent city in the United States of the Republic. History Metropolis was discovered in 1609 by Heinrich der Vermeer, who was looking for a good port system to trade in the New World. The port village was tended by der Vermeer's family up until 1703, when businessmen Louis Franklin and William Chamberlain bought out the Vermeer's for the village, and officially founding it as an independent town. Franklin quickly drafted up maps and plans for a major port system with Metropolis as the central trade and business hub in the region. Chamberlain worked to make peace with the Native Indians, the Wampalas, so land once owned by the Wampala tribe would be owned by the partners. Initially, the town as a major hub was regarded as a wild dream concocted by big dreams and arrogance. Many citizens of the Eastern Regions thought that cities like London (capital) and Oliversburg would be the dominant trade centers of the Western Regions. Franklin and Chamberlain were worried that this investment would cost them their reputation in the East, so they discounted lands that were touted by them as "incredibly fertile" and "a great land for international trade." The cheap land was enough to get many poorer and eccentric people over to buy the land to "start something new" as one immigrant recalled. The population by the year 1755 was around 72,000, an incredible feat, considering the next largest city, London, was only 34,000. During the Great War of Liberation (1769-1777), the city was held by the rebels up until 1774, when the Eastern Region superpower of the Grand Kingdom battled the USR to take over the ports there in Metropolis, London, and Oliversburg. The city was taken back by the rebels of the Republic in 1776. The end of the 18th century brought great economic success to the city. Immigrants from the Eastern Regions began flocking to the city. The population by the end of the century was 284,300. As the Western Regions became more powerful as an industrial center, immigrants flooded into Metropolis. The city was growing out of control. World-class city planners were brought to Metropolis to create a good street and organization pattern. They concluded that the city needed a grid pattern with diagonal streets. The majority of the grid streets and avenues would be numbered, while most diagonal streets would be named after influential people, like Franklin Avenue, Chamberlain Avenue, Clybourn Avenue, and Hawthorne Avenue. Broadway Avenue would be the central diagonal avenue. With the completion of Harris Island in 1890, immigrants could be brought through much faster. The population of the city by 1895 was 5,796,700. Immigrants from all over the world were coming through Harris and starting new lives. By the turn of the 20th century, the city became overly crowded. Even though skyscrapers were being built, they were not frequently built in the city. That changed when businessmen's ego brought the skyline to higher and higher levels. The Citizen Life Insurance Company Building (pictured below) dominated the Financial District of Metropolis. The late 1910s and throughout the 1920s brought taller skyscrapers, multiple and growing financial institutions, and a sense of being on air. Millions had invested in the dream that Franklin and Chamberlain sold. An estimate of the population in 1927 was over 13,000,000 over 7 boroughs. Books like The Gilded City ''and ''The Top of His World showcased the ego and power of the city's richest and most influential citizens. By July of 1929, the stockbrokers and financiers of the city thought that the city would never go back to grit and poverty. The signs were showing an impending financial collapse, but civic leaders were ignoring the signs. In September, the market crashed, making millions of dollars disappear, and putting even the upper echelon in the poor house. The Great Financial Collapse of 1929 put an end to many of the city's great private building projects. The Metro State Building and Rochester Center were the last of the large projects built in this time. As a way to counteract the Collapse, the Federal Government set up programs for large government buildings and infrastructure to be built, and a way for jobs to be had in the area. This program, known as the Civic Project and Beautification Corps (CPBC), gave unemployed citizens work to do. This program lasted from 1931-1942. With the advent of the Great Continental Wars of 1940-1945, many citizens went to go fight in the wars, and many others stayed back to work in factories that manufactured products for war. After the war, Metropolis was the only dominant city in the world, after the others were destroyed in war. In 1950, the population reached 23,540,998, the city's highest population ever at the time. The city became an excellent place for international business to be done there. Multinational corporations set up in droves to make their name known in the world. While the city was attracting world companies, primarily white, middle class citizens began moving out the city as interstates and highways made it easier to commute from out of the city. Many docks also started to close, as more space for cargo was found in nearby areas, like in the State of Livinia. Manufacturing became a job harder and harder to find in the city. The 1960s were turbulent times in the city, as many diverse groups throughout the city began to rebel against the status quo of discrimination against blacks, latinos, and gays, more middle class residents were leaving in exodus. The population estimate by 1965 was 20,109,067. The middle class tax base was leaving, as well as the corporate tax base, fleeing to the suburbs. That led to deficits rising, and budgets cut. The city laid off over 3,000 police officers, and 5,000 teachers and school employees, Leading to an extreme rise in crime, and schools failing. The subway system was crumbling, and lack of repairs led to breakdowns and derailments nearly every week. After coming near the point of bankruptcy in the mid '70s, a new mayor was elected, Mort Koch. The budget was balanced within 4 years of that. Even though the city was becoming fiscally sound, the 1985 population was 18,132,994, numbers not seen since 1942. Crime was endemic, with 15,000 crimes per 100,000 people, and 978 murders per 100,000. In the early 1990s, the city embarked on a project to make the city safer with the Broken Windows Program in areas where crimes per capita were over 10,000 for 100,000. The program was met with great success as crimes started to fall greatly. By the end of the 1990s, the population was 23,987,306, the highest population ever. In the 2000s, more and more people came to the city to live there, especially new immigrants. Many new developments came as money was being brought into the city. The city finally was in a state of positive growth. The population grew to over 28,000,000, and keeps growing. Economy Metropolis's economy is the largest economy in the United States of the Republic. The GDP of Metropolis and its metropolitan area totals around $4.87 Trillion (USR) It is the financial, banking, and trade capital of the country. The city is home to the Metropolis Stock Exchange (MSE), the Republic Stock Exchange (RSE), the Metropolis Commodity Exchange (MCOMEX), and many other exchanges and trading institutions. The city is home to several banking institutions as well. Henn-Barker, NationalCentral, First Republic, Commerce, United Farmers', Chase, and the Bank of Metropolis are headquartered in Metropolis or in its Metropolitan Area. Tallest Buildings in Metropolis Media Metropolis is the largest media market in the USR. This lists the TV & radio stations and newspapers. Metropolis has 5 daily newspapers. The Metropolis Daily News ''is the top-ranked newspaper in city. '' Metropolis Daily News (Broadsheet) Metropolis World (Tabloid) World Business Journal (Broadsheet) Metropolis Tribune (Broadsheet) Metropolis Daily Journal (Tabloid) Politics There are 23,172,481 registered voters in Metropolis. The city's mayor, David Steinman, belongs to the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party is the largest political group in the city, followed by the Socialist, Conservative, Reform, Independent, Republic Party, Communist, and Civic. Metropolis Government is controlled by the Metropolis City Council, which includes representatives from all over the city. The Chamber of the Conference is the most powerful electorate in the city. That group includes the Mayor, members of his cabinet, top-ranking council members, and other powerful civic leaders. Number of Registered Voters per party: Liberal: 5,456.398 Socialist: 4,874,109 Independent: 4,757,908 Conservative: 3,431,664 Reform: 2,225,098 New Republic Party 1,104,196 Communist: 735,965 Civic (Progressive): 587,143